Believe. Belong. Serve.

Transcription

1 Believe. Belong. Serve. Pastor Eddie Turner Sunday, October 9, 2016 Matt. 20:20-28(NLT) - 20 Then the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus with her sons. She knelt respectfully to ask a favor. 21 What is your request? he asked. She replied, In your Kingdom, please let my two sons sit in places of honor next to you, one on your right and the other on your left. 22 But Jesus answered by saying to them, You don t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink? Oh yes, they replied, we are able! 23 Jesus told them, You will indeed drink from my bitter cup. But I have no right to say who will sit on my right or my left. My Father has prepared those places for the ones he has chosen. 24 When the ten other disciples heard what James and John had asked, they were indignant. 25 But Jesus called them together and said, You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. 26 But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. 28 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many. - BELIEVE It does matter what we believe-what we believe determines our quality of life now, our destiny in life next and our eternal life in the future. Prov. 4:20-23(NLT) - My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to my words. 21 Don t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart, 22 for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body. 23 Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. Pay attention to them (give it priority)

2 Don t lose sight of the words (stay in range so you can see them) Let God s word penetrate your heart (the word penetrate in some translations means to keep or allow the word of God to shape and form your actions and attitudes. ) what we believe determines our quality of life now, our destiny in life next and our eternal life in the future. Prov. 4:22(NLT) - for they (God s Word) bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body. The word Life in the Hebrew means vigorous living, energetic and lively, to be alive. When we embrace and follow God s word it gives our life purpose and meaning. Prov. 4:22(NLT) - for they (God s Word) bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body. Prov. 4:22(NIV) - for they are life to those who find them and health to one s whole body. Prov.4:22(TLB) - 22 for they will mean real life for you and radiant health. Prov.4:20-22(MSG) - Dear friend, listen well to my words; tune your ears to my voice. Keep my message in plain view at all times. Concentrate! Learn it by heart! Those who discover these words live, really live; body and soul, they re bursting with health. Remember: what we believe determines our quality of life now, our destiny in life next and our eternal life in the future.

3 Prov. 4:23(NLT) - 23 Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. Numbers 13:17-21(NLT) - Moses gave the men these instructions as he sent them out to explore the land: Go north through the Negev into the hill country. 18 See what the land is like, and find out whether the people living there are strong or weak, few or many. 19 See what kind of land they live in. Is it good or bad? Do their towns have walls, or are they unprotected like open camps? 20 Is the soil fertile or poor? Are there many trees? Do your best to bring back samples of the crops you see. (It happened to be the season for harvesting the first ripe grapes.) 21 So they went up and explored the land from the wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, near Lebo-hamath Numbers 13:25-33(NLT)- 25 After exploring the land for forty days, the men returned 26 to Moses, Aaron, and the whole community of Israel at Kadesh in the wilderness of Paran. They reported to the whole community what they had seen and showed them the fruit they had taken from the land. 27 This was their report to Moses: We entered the land you sent us to explore, and it is indeed a bountiful country a land flowing with milk and honey. Here is the kind of fruit it produces. 28 But the people living there are powerful, and their towns are large and fortified. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak! 29 The Amalekites live in the Negev, and the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country. The Canaanites live along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and along the Jordan Valley. 30 But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses. Let s go at once to take the land, he said. We can certainly conquer it! 31 But the other men who had explored the land with him disagreed. We can t go up against them! They are stronger than we are! 32 So they spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites: The land we traveled through and explored will devour anyone who goes to live there. All the people we saw were huge. 33 We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak. Next to them we felt like grasshoppers, and that s what they thought, too! For 40 years they simply survived but didn t thrive.

4 Joshua 2:1(NLT) - Then Joshua secretly sent out two spies from the Israelite camp at Acacia Grove. He instructed them, Scout out the land on the other side of the Jordan River, especially around Jericho. So the two men set out and came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there that night. Joshua 2:9-11(NLT) - I know the Lord has given you this land, she told them. We are all afraid of you. Everyone in the land is living in terror. 10 For we have heard how the Lord made a dry path for you through the Red Sea when you left Egypt. And we know what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River, whose people you completely destroyed. 11 No wonder our hearts have melted in fear! No one has the courage to fight after hearing such things. For the Lord your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below. The children of Israel believed they were the grasshoppers when in reality the giants of the land believed the children of Israel were an unconquerable army. God s Word is the only true mirror that reflects your image correctly. Because they believed wrong- for forty years the children of Israel survived with less than God s best. Prov. 4:23(NLT) - 23 Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. It does matter what we believe! My belief system affects me, my family and those who I have influence with. SERVE Acts 13:36(NIV) - Now when David had served God s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his ancestors and his body decayed. Generations after David has gone-the one thing God proclaims about

5 David is his servant s heart. Acts 13:36(NIV) - Now when David had served God s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep The word serve here is unique-it is the lowest form of the word serve. It literally refers to the rower in the bottom of the ship. Acts 20:27-35(NLT) - 27 for I didn t shrink from declaring all that God wants you to know. 28 So guard yourselves and God s people. Feed and shepherd God s flock his church, purchased with his own blood over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as leaders. 29 I know that false teachers, like vicious wolves, will come in among you after I leave, not sparing the flock. 30 Even some men from your own group will rise up and distort the truth in order to draw a following. 31 Watch out! Remember the three years I was with you my constant watch and care over you night and day, and my many tears for you. 32 And now I entrust you to God and the message of his grace that is able to build you up and give you an inheritance with all those he has set apart for himself. 33 I have never coveted anyone s silver or gold or fine clothes. 34 You know that these hands of mine have worked to supply my own needs and even the needs of those who were with me. 35 And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: It is more blessed to give than to receive. The trait of our lives that impresses God is not our talent or abilitybut our willingness to serve without the spotlight or acclaim. Unfortunately today- we live in a church world that has successfully separated serving from sacrifice. I hear this comment all the time- I will get involved if I have time I will commit as long as I enjoy it I will help as long as it doesn t interfere with other things I have going. In other words- what we are really saying- I will serve if I get to do what I want to do, when I want to do it and if it doesn t interfere with anything else I want to do.

6 I am willing to serve if there is no sacrifice Philippians 2:5-8(NIV) - In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death even death on a cross! He made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant... The phrase he made himself nothing is also translated he emptied himself. Serving is an attitude, it is a culture. Serving is a sacrifice and it s the only thing that will be remembered about you 1,000 years from now.